AFC raises $430m in digital bond as Africa deepens access to global capital

Semafor reports that a new sovereign bond exchange-traded fund (ETF) has launched, with commitments potentially reaching $250 million. Managed by Legal & General, this ETF tracks an African sovereign bond index created by S&P Dow Jones Indices and the Afreximbank-backed Liquidity and Sustainability Facility (LSF). The ETF aims to provide institutional investors with diversified exposure to African dollar-denominated government bonds, thereby creating a secondary market for African debt.

LSF founder and former head of the UN's Economic Commission for Africa, Vera Songwe, expressed the goal of reducing the premium investors demand and ultimately lowering governments' borrowing costs. The UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office is providing seed capital for the fund. For the market to achieve critical mass and deepen trading, it needs to reach roughly $1 billion in size.

Brief written by urgent.news from Semafor's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.